Iron In Pregnancy

Iron is needed for your body to produce hemoglobin. Non- pregnant women need about 18 mg of iron per day, but pregnant women require much more because their bodies need to produce more blood because of their uterus expansion and the baby. It is recommended that pregnant women take 27 mg of iron daily. This is the amount of iron found in most premium vitamins, but check your prenatal vitamin label to see how many milligrams of iron are included in your daily dose.

If you are taking gummy vitamins, please note they do not generally contain iron. You will need to change to a prenatal vitamin which includes the amount of iron needed in pregnancy or take an iron supplement.

Iron supplements can be hard on your stomach. If you find you can’t tolerate iron supplements, you can have your doctor give you iron shots (I.M., in the muscle) or IV (in the vein).

Foods containing iron are classified as heme (from meats) and non-heme (from plants). Heme-based foods include beef, chicken, turkey, organ meats, oysters, clams, and mussels. Non- heme foods include beans, spinach and other leafy vegetables, potatoes with the skin, nuts and seeds, dried fruit (raisins, prunes), and enriched breads and cereals.

Vitamin C, especially from plant sources such as oranges, grapefruit, kiwi, broccoli, peppers, strawberries, and watermelon, can help your body absorb iron..

Calcium and iron are both positively charged ions with two bonds tied together, commonly termed covalent. Therefore both calcium and iron compete in the body for absorption sites. Prenatal vitamins probably contain both calcium and iron. Read your prenatal vitamin label. If calcium and iron are together in your prenatal vitamin, I suggest you might try taking iron supplements separately. In addition, when eating, consider eating high calcium foods as far away from as possible from your meals with high iron content.